Exile review and meet and greet with Tom Stacey

Exile by Tom Stacey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A pair of brothers exploring, a fatal attack, Echoes in the night that look like men, and a great war, are the underlying themes for this novel. Yet there is so much more going on it will almost take your breath away trying to comprehend it all. The characters are solid and carry the story with power. Their lives interact masterfully allowing the story to flow off the page into your imagination. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, war, science fiction, or character driven story.

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1) What genre do you like to write?

Fantasy is probably my favourite genre to write but I have written short stories that could be classed as thrillers, sci-fi, historical fiction, even horror. Hopefully future books will reflect this.

2) If you were to branch out from your current genre which one(s) would you like to explore?

At the moment I have a few chapters of a thriller novel. It's a Robinsonade about a man trapped on an island by himself.

3) How long have you been writing? What prompted you to start writing?

I started Exile in late 2012, but it was born out of some short stories I wrote whilst at university in 2009. I have always written: scripts, sketches - anything really - but it wasn't until Exile that I took it more seriously.

4) What inspires you to write?

Anything and everything: snippets of conversation I hear; things I read in the news; dreams. I writes down anything I hear or think of that might be good, whether it's an entire plot or a witty comeback a future character might say. I would recommend that anybody who wants to write does the same.

5) When a story idea pops into your head, how long does it typically take to write it (from start to finish)?

It depends entirely upon what it is. A short story could take a week ifit lands in my head fully-fleshed. It could take months. Exile, my first and (so far) only novel, took over a year, and that's if I don't count editing time and revisions (there have been many).

6) What did you find to be the most difficult part of the writing process?  Easiest? 

Staring at a blank page is the hardest part. I also find it difficult to remember small details from earlier writing. Fantasy is a blessing and a curse in this way, because you can be a god and make everything from scratch, but then you have to remember it all. The easiest part is... well, I don't know. I enjoy it, so there's that.

7) Of all your characters whom do you most relate to?

I hate to say it, but it's probably Loster. He's someone who is too self-aware and analyses everything he does. I can be like that sometimes.

8) Is there one of your characters that you did not like when you started writing about them, but found yourself liking by the end of the story?

Not really. Some of my characters are villains (obviously) but I still like writing them.

9) What is your least favorite part about writing? The Most?

I write by hand so writing that up onto the computer is pretty laborious, although it does give me a chance to do an early edit.

 

10) When you are not writing or editing what do you do for relaxation?

I watch a lot of football (soccer for any Americans reading), movies, TV (I love Suits), video games, and I read a lot, of course.

11) What genre of books do you like to read?
Fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction make up the majority of my library.

 

12) What author(s) do you enjoy reading?  Why? I love reading Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, Wilbur Smith, and the late David Gemmell. They are all masterful writers and know how to write wonderful characters, as well as how to pace an exciting story.

 

13) Tell us about your books where can people find them?

There's only one so far, the epic fantasy, Exile. It can be bought on Kindle or as a paperback from www.feedaread.com